This invention relates to electrical contact elements, and to electrical components, connectors and connector assemblies including contact elements.
The invention is more specifically concerned with contact elements of electrical components and connectors suitable for surface mounting on a printed circuit board.
Surface mounted components are conventionally connected in a circuit formed on a printed circuit board by soldering their contacts to conductive pads formed on the surface of the board. The soldered joint provides an electrical, and sometimes the mechanical connection, of the component with the board. The contact elements of such components usually take the form of a metal bar or strip of rectangular section that is bent downwards at an angle from the component to the conductive pad on the board, and bent parallel to the board surface close to its end. Such an arrangement can provide an effective and low-cost contact where the contacts are of this bar or strip form throughout their length, since they can be readily made by a pressing operation. In many components, however, the contacts are made by turning, to produce an element of cylindrical shape. Conventionally, with such components, one end of the contact is subsequently flattened and bent to produce a portion of rectangular section by which a solder connection can be made with a contact pad on the board surface. This additional forming operation leads to an increase in the cost of the contact.